SCREENSHOT: An unidentified young man speaks in the name of "The army of the caliphate in West Africa

According
to BBC report, militant Islamists in Nigeria have released a new video and,
unusually, Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau fails to appear in it. Instead, an
unidentified young man speaks in the name of "The army of the caliphate in
West Africa".

Mr
Shekau's absence from the video has fuelled speculation about his fate.

In
the 10-minute video, the speaker dismisses as a lie the Nigerian military's
assertion that it has recaptured all cities and towns from the militants. He
shows the identity cards of government troops he says have been killed, and the
wreckage of what he describes as a jet that had been brought down.

Mr Shekau's absence from the video has fuelled speculation about his fate.

BBC
Nigeria analyst Naziru Mikailu says the video appears to be a genuine Boko
Haram production. The fact that it was issued under the banner of "The
army of the caliphate in West Africa" reflects that the group is now
allied with Islamic State (IS) militants fighting for a global caliphate, he
says.

However,
Mr Shekau's absence from the video, and the failure to mention him, is
surprising, our correspondent adds. It suggests a split in Boko Haram or one of
three other possibilities:

Mr
Shekau has been wounded

He
has been killed or

He
has gone deep into hiding, making it difficult for him to appear in the video.

WATCH BOKO HARAM'S LATEST VIDEO (WARNING - GRAPHIC CONTENT):

The
speaker, who was carrying a rifle and whose face was covered, said the video
was shot in Sambisa, a vast forest surrounding a game reserve. The group
controlled the forest, and was running education projects - ranging from
studies about Islam to technology - for people under its rule, he said.

Speaking in
Hausa, he said: “The armies claim through the media that they captured our
towns and that they assaulted Sambisa (forest) and defeated us,” he said,
referring to the bushland area in Nigeria’s northeast Borno state that has been
an Islamist stronghold.”

“I swear by
Allah that I am talking right now from Sambisa. Here in Sambisa you can travel
more than four to five hours under the black flag of Islam by car or by
motorbike. We are uncountable in Sambisa. We are thousands of Mujahedeen here.”